"There was no view to be had."  An illustration by Stanley Wood for The Windsor Magazine, 1902.

Here's a barometer banjo from Punch, 1871.

"I'm in it," from 1898.

"The return of the school teachers.  We'd like to see it clear up."  Date uncertain.

"Out to-day, 'The Wet Dog.'"

"A wet day for a wedding."  From Fighting an Omen by E. Henderson Smith, 1883.  Speaking of weddings, see our Collected Lost Meanings of Wedlock.  Why lost meanings? The definition of "marriage" has become hotly debated of late, to the point that the word has become "increasingly unmentionable" (Catholic Herald) or even "has no meaning at all" (Family Policy Institute). It's been said that only through loss can there be gain, that only through loss can we truly grow and understand what is at stake, that only through loss can that which is beautiful be found. As the poet Joseph August has noted, "Only through loss can we glimpse the deepest meanings, / hints and flashes whispered from below / elucted as from underwater, deep." The collected lost meanings of wedlock might surprise even those who would otherwise be considered well-informed.  It's the perfect gift for one's betrothed, or for a wedding planner, or for anyone contemplating matrimony.

An illustration by T. W. Couldery for Cassell's, 1893.

"When in doubt take only a sunshade, or an umbrella."  From The Z.Z.G., or Zig Zag Guide Round and About the Bold and Beautiful Kentish Coast by Francis Cowley Burnand and illustated by Phil May, 1897.

"None of your d—d blue skies here," from The King's Own by Frederick Marryat and illustrated by F. H. Townsend, 1896.

From Judy, Or The London Serio-Comic Journal, 1871.

"Then it came on to rain 'cats and dogs.'  Then something else came."  From Judy, Or The London Serio-Comic Journal, 1872.

Walking the pig, from Goaks and Tears by M. Quad, 1875.

Here's the science behind why one's "phantom limb" always gets wet in a rain shower.  From El Mundo Físico by A. Guillemin, 1882.

From The Pot of Gold and Other Stories by Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman, 1892.

From The Poetical Works of Thomas Hood, 1880.

From Tom Racquet and His Three Maiden Aunts by Charles Manby and illustrated by Robert Cruikshank, 1844.